Heat-transfer fermenting and aging vessel

ABSTRACT

A heat-transfer vessel or tank for use in fermenting and aging bear, and like products, is near-cylindrical in configuration and cross-section, the near-cylindrical body being closed at either end by a dished head member in order to form a closed tank. Each side wall of the tank includes a cooling jacket. The tank is mounted on a frame of metal beams, and reinforcing cantilever members are rigidly connected to the frame and are secured to and embrace the cooling jacket. The cooling jacket is preferably of dimpled construction, and each dished head member is in the form of a torisphere.

United States Patent Knight et al.

[54] HEAT-TRANSFER FERMENTING AND AGING VESSEL [73] Assignee: DeLavalCompany Limited, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada [22] Filed: Dec. 8, 1970[21] App1.No.: 96,142

[51] lnt..Cl ..A47j 27/10 [58] Field of "220/71, 1 B, 13, 1O

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Leseelleur et a1 ..220/71 X1 Sept. 5, 1972 3,024,942 3/1962 Schmitz .220/71 3 ,047,190 7/1962 Bayer.220/71 2,477,831 8/1949 Schmitz, Jr ..220/1 B 2,675 ,940 4/1954 Schmitz..220/71 Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles 7 Att0mey--Davis, Hoxie,Faithfull & Hapgood [57] ABSTRACT A heat-transfer vessel or tank for usein fermenting and aging bear, and like products, is near-cylindrical inconfiguration and cross-section, the near-cylindrical body being closedat either end by a dished head member in order to form a closed tank.Each side wall of the tank includes a cooling jacket. The tank ismounted on a frame of metal beams, and reinforcing cantilever membersare rigidly connected to the frame and are secured to and embrace thecooling jacket. The cooling jacket is preferably of dimpledconstruction, and each dished head member is in the form of atorisphere.

9C1aims,7DrawingFigures P'ATENTEDSEP M2 3,688,940

SHEET 2 [IF 6 FIGZ HEAT-TRANSFER FERMENTING AND AGING VESSEL The presentinvention relates to a large enclosed container of novel structureparticularly designed to be used as a fermenting and aging vessel in thebrewing of beer and like products.

In the manufacture of beer on a commercial scale, large quantities ofwort, including fermentable carbohydrate and yeast foods are inoculatedwith yeast and fermented for a time sufficient to convert thecarbohydrate into alcohol and carbon dioxide. During fermentation theheat that is produced must be dissipated in order that the fermentationtemperature may be controlled, because otherwise the quality of the beerwill be impaired. When brewing is completed, the brew must be cooled andaged.

Brewing and aging vessels are necessarily of large capacity, 60,000imperial gallons for example, and should at the same time be ofconvenient design and relatively light in weight. It will be obviousthat structural strength is of primary importance.

Prior art containers are generally rectangular or loafshaped incross-section; and in order to provide the necessary structuralstrength, relatively large amounts of floor space must be provided toaccommodate the bracing and strengthening members. Many prior art tankshave elaborate stiffening and bracing structures, particularly at thecooling area, which are difficult to construct and assemble. In a numberof instances their cooling assemblies comprise pluralities of fins thatmust be welded into place, thus adding materially to the costs andcomplications of manufacture.

According to the present invention, an efficient and adequate coolingarea is provided by the mounting of dimpled plate means on the lowerextremities of the tank wall structure. With that kind of novelstructure, welding with respect to the cooling assembly is reduced to aminimum, cooling efficiency is improved and construction costs areconsiderably reduced by comparison with those for conventional tanks.

From the standpoint of maximum vessel strength for a given size, theideal container would be cylindrical in shape; and it is a particularobject of the present invention to provide a fermentation vessel ofappropriate strength and of light weight, having a near or quasicylindrical shape, and being approximately circular in cross-section andhaving a smooth, unobstructed interi- It is a further object of theinvention to provide a tank equipped with an efficient cooling systemthat is of simple and practical construction.

The tank of the invention is constructed of stainless sheet steel and isprovided preferably with torispherical front and rear head memberswelded to a tubular body section of welded plate construction reinforcedby means of lightweight hollow members or cantilever side beams. Theentire structure is supported on a plurality of transverse beams mountedon spaced longitudinal beams.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of tank according to the invention anddisplaying the head end;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tank floor structure;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation;

FIG. 4 is a head end elevation;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the bottom supporting structure and thecantilever reinforcing members;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation showing one of the cantilever members and asection of the cooling jacket; and

FIG. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

The tank designated generally at l is of quasi-cylindrical shape and hasconvexly dished front and rear head members of discs 2 and 3 that arecircular in outline and that have a chordal section removed, designatedat 2a and 3a, (FIG. 4) in order to be registrable with the bottom 4 ofthe tank which is flat and which is made of stainless steel. Thepreferable configuration of head members 2 and 3 may be defined asellipsoidal or torispherical and is known in the art, specificationstherefor being set out in the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code publishedby the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (A.S.M.E.).

The stainless steel tank bottom 4 (FIG. 6) is secured to and supportedby a web of steel beams comprising longitudinal beams 5, and a pluralityof transverse beams 6 the ends of which are welded to and terminate atthe inner surfaces of beams 5. The bottom 4 of the tank extendslaterally beyond the beams 5 in order to meet the tank walls, and theouter lateral extremities of the bottom are supported on extensionmembers 7 that are butt-welded to the outer surfaces of longitudinalbeams 5 and that alternate with the cantilever members to be describedbelow. The ends of the tank bottom4 are suitably shaped as shown at 4aand 4b to conform to the curvature of the chordal sections 2a and 3a ofhead members 2 and 3.

The walls or shell 8 of tank 1 are formed of sheets of stainless steelwelded together according to conventional methods and shaped toquasi-cylindrical form in order to be registrable with head members 2and 3. The lower areas of the walls 8 are exteriorly clad with dimpledsteel plate to form a cooling jacket 9, the dimpled plate beingspot-welded to the tank walls at 10 through the bases of the dimples 11.(FIGS. 3 and 7).

The jacket 9 is of known construction composed of a double layer ofsteel sheet, the inner layer being smooth and the outer layer dimpled,the two sheets in the layer being secured together but spaced apart bythe depth of the dimples 11. It is to be understood that the peripheraledges of the dimpled sheets are flanged toward the smooth inner sheet,where they are welded together to form a liquid-tight seal.

The upper section of tank 1 carries spaced-apart reinforcing hoops 12which extend from the top of cooling jacket 9 on one side of the tank tothe top of the jacket on the opposite side. The hoops 12 are of channelstructure and have flanges 13 (FIG. 3) through which the hoops arewelded to the tank.

The lower section of tank 1 is reinforced and additionally supported bymeans of hollow L-shaped cantilever members 14 (FIG. 6) which alternatewith extension members 7 are mentioned above. The short, horizontalportion or leg 14a of each member 14 is butt-welded to the longitudinalbeam 5. The verticallyextending portion 14b of each member 14 is weldedto a plate 15, the plate 15 in turn being welded at to the exterior ofthe dimpled cooling jacket 9, each of the plates 15 being of sufficientwidth to cover approximately three of the dimples l 1.

J: 0.15 (In Where J the difference in elevation, or vertical distance ofseparation, between the height of the vessel at its maximum width, andthe height of the top of the side beams (inches).

t Shell, or liner, selected material thickness within limits imposed byformula I (inches).

k Constant of proportion which is no greater than 160 and no smallerthan 100.

Concerning the bearing, or contact, between side beams and dimpledjacket the following conditions must be satisfied simultaneously:

a. The width of that surface of the side beams which is in contact withthe dimpled jacket, and is called the bearing surface, is no more thanone inch wider than the minimum width defined below:

W= k L C/RL) in Where W Minimum width of the bearing, or contact,surface of side beams (inches).

L Center to center spacing of adjacent side beams (inches) R Outsideradius of upper vessel shell section (inches) k Constant of proportionwhich is no greater than 0.21 and no smaller than 0.15.

C Material constant which, for stainless steels lies between 10,000 and15,000, and is determined by multiplying the flexural working stress ofthe head transfer jacket material by 0.346. This factor (0.346) correctsfor differences from theoretical bending moment calculations on thejacket sections, between supports, resulting from the width of thesupports themselves.

b. Based on the calculated average inside circumference of a jacketdimple, there must be a minimum of 2.9 inches combined average insidedimple circumference acting in direct compression between the vesselliner and each side beam, in every 2.25 inches of beam length.

It will be noted that at the point designated at 16 (FIG. 4) in the tankwall the general curvature of the wall flows into a straightened ornon-curved section 17 that extends to the tank bottom 4. That is to say,at point 16 the tank wall abandons the curvature of the head members 2and 3 and diverges outwardly in relation to the periphery of the headmembers in order to conform to the configuration of the vertical portion14b of the cantilever members 14. Due to the divergence of the lowerportion of tank wall and cooling jacket a triangularly shaped opening isformed between the lower peripheries of head members 2 and 3 and section17 of the tank wall. That opening is enclosed by means of a triangularbox 18, there being two such boxes at either end of the tank. Each ofthe four boxes 18 extends a short distance into the tank and the exposedface of each of the two boxes 18 at the front end of the tank serves asa support means for an infiuent header assembly 19 enclosing the openends of the lower or in-flow section of dimpled cooling jacket 9, theheader assembly including influent conduits 20. The upper or out-flowsections 19a of the cooling jacket 9 are mounted endwise of the coolingjacket in the head 2 and include effluent conduits 21. A coolant such asethylene glycol enters and leaves the cooling system by way of conduits20 and 21 respectively.

The ends of the tank walls and the boxes 18 are welded to theperipheries of the heads 2 and 3, and the boxes 18 are welded to thecooling jacket 10.

In order to facilitate flow of the coolant, the cooling jacket 9 isconstructed of upper and lower horizontal sections 9a and 9b, the sideedges of the sections being welded together along horizontal line 9c,each section being separated from the other at the weld line, thedimpled plates forming each section being mounted in horizontal positionwith the exception of the end plates 9d in the jacket (see FIG. 3)located adjacent head member 3, those plates being mounted in verticalposition in order to permit return flow of the coolant.

The head members 2 and 3 are provided with sight glass assemblies 22 and23 and head member 2 includes a man-hole assembly 24 whereby a cleaningcrew may have access to the tank.

The bottom of the tank slopes gently toward the tank end adjacent heammember 2 where a sump is provided in the tank bottom. The sump isemptied by means of pipe 25.

The top of the tank may be provided with suitable openings to I) acceptan automatic device to facilitate pressure control within the tankand/or 2) provide a further man-hole means in addition to man-hole 24whereby access to the interior of the tank may be had.

The exterior of the dimpled cooling jacket 9 is coated with lagging 26which may take the form of any suitable insulating material and whichmay be applied with a towel or in the form of a spray. In FIG. 3 thelagging is broken away at one end of the tank to display a portion ofthe dimpled jacket.

We claim:

1. A quasi-cylindrical tank of substantially circular cross-sectionhaving a smooth, unobstructed interior and comprising, in combination,dished front and rear head members, unitary bottom, top and side wallsections secured to said head members to form a closed tank, a coolingjacket integral with the side wall sections, a plurality ofinterconnected metal beam members forming a frame mounted beneath andsupporting said tank, and a plurality of angular reinforcing cantilevermembers rigidly interconnecting said frame and said cooling jacketindependently of said side wall sections and embracing said coolingjacket.

2. A tank as claimed in claim 1, the bottom wall section being flat andwherein said dished front and rear head members are torispherical andhave a chordal portion removed adjacent their lower peripheries, saidchordal portions being in registration with the ends of said bottomwall.

3. A tank as claimed in claim 1, said frame including a plurality ofextension members alternating with said angular reinforcing cantilevermembers, the said extension members extending outwardly from and beingsecured to the frame.

4. A tank as claimed in claim 1, said cooling jacket being formed ofdimpled steel plate welded to the sidewall sections through the bases ofthe dimples.

5. A tank as claimed in claim 1, the top wall thereof including aplurality of reinforcing hoops.

6. A tank as claimed in claim 1, comprising also a plurality of metalplates, each of said angular reinforcing members being of hollowconstruction and each being welded to one of said metal plates, theplates in turn being welded to said cooling jackets.

7. A tank as claimed in claim 1, said tank top walls and the upperportion of said cooling jacket conforming to the circular configurationof said front and rear head members, the lower portion of said coolingjacket diverging from said circular configuration, the lower edge ofsaid jacket on either side of the tank meeting the tank bottom at apoint spaced from said head membets.

8. The tank as claimed in claim 7, the divergence of said jacketdefining a triangularly shaped opening between a portion of theperiphery of each of said head members and said jacket, and a triangularbox enclosing each said opening.

9. A tank as claimed in claim 8, comprising also an I influent-effluentassembly arranged endwise of said cooling jacket thereby facilitatingflow of a coolant, one of said assemblies being mounted on an exposedface of a said triangular box.

1. A quasi-cylindrical tank of substantially circular crosssectionhaving a smooth, unobstructed interior and comprising, in combination,dished front and rear head members, unitary bottom, top and side wallsections secured to said head members to form a closed tank, a coolingjacket integral with the side wall sections, a plurality ofinterconnected metal beam members forming a frame mounted beneath andsupporting said tank, and a plurality of angular reinforcing cantilevermembers rigidly interconnecting said frame and said cooling jacketindependently of said side wall sections and embracing said coolingjacket.
 2. A tank as claimed in claim 1, the bottom wall section beingflat and wherein said dished front and rear head members aretorispherical and have a chordal portion removed adjacent their lowerperipheries, said chordal portions being in registration with the endsof said bottom wall.
 3. A tank as claimed in claim 1, said frameincluding a plurality of extension members alternating with said angularreinforcing cantilever members, the said extension members extendingoutwardly from and being secured to the frame.
 4. A tank as claimed inclaim 1, said cooling jacket being formed of dimpled steel plate weldedto the side-wall sections through the bases of the dimples.
 5. A tank asclaimed in claim 1, the top wall thereof including a plurality ofreinforcing hoops.
 6. A tank as claimed in claim 1, comprising also aplurality of metal plates, each of said angular reinforcing membersbeing of hollow construction and each being welded to one of said metalplates, the plates in turn being welded to said cooling jackets.
 7. Atank as claimed in claim 1, said tank top walls and the upper portion ofsaid cooling jacket conforming to the circular configuration of saidfront and rear head members, the lower portion of said cooling jacketdiverging from said circular configuration, the lower edge of saidjacket on either side of the tank meeting the tank bottom at a pointspaced from said head members.
 8. The tank as claimed in claim 7, thedivergence of said jacket defining a triangularly shaped opening betweena portion of the periphery of each of said head members and said jacket,and a triangular box enclosing each said opening.
 9. A tank as claimedin claIm 8, comprising also an influent-effluent assembly arrangedendwise of said cooling jacket thereby facilitating flow of a coolant,one of said assemblies being mounted on an exposed face of a saidtriangular box.